ID Chapter 9

The first week of the comeback passed in a flash. After finishing the visible radio recording on the first day of the second week, the second schedule of the afternoon was a live app broadcast. It was a 30-minute live video streamed through a mobile app, and because it was broadcast worldwide, it was even more nerve-wracking than a music broadcast.

Today’s theme was comeback promotion. MV behind-the-scenes, jacket shoot episodes, new album introduction, and comeback thoughts. Even though I’ve only been debuted for eight months, this was already my third comeback, and we’ve always done the same promotions, but I don’t know why I get more nervous each time.

We sat cozily in the cafe on the first floor of the company building, waiting for the live broadcast to begin. The order was Mun, Han-sae, Jae-yi, me, and Yadan.

Brunch menus sold at the cafe were placed on the table. There were pancakes topped with fresh strawberries, bagels spread with blueberry cream, cheese fondue, and various breads. They looked incredibly delicious… Since they weren’t labeled with anyone’s name, I felt safe eating them.

“It’s one minute before the live broadcast. You can eat naturally.”

Oh yeah. Jae-yi said that, as if he’d noticed me constantly glancing at the bread. I immediately picked up a fork and poked a pancake.

“Ira, were you hungry? No wonder you didn’t eat the fan-given lunchbox this morning, tsk-tsk.”

“Don’t click your tongue, you punk. I wasn’t hungry then.”

“It was really delicious though. Aren’t the lunchboxes from Seumulstar the best? Others are a bit bland. I wish they’d change the vendor, hehe.”

“Bland food is healthy food. Don’t compare when it’s from the fans.”

“Ah, hyung… you’re too serious about everything. It’s just a joke, a joke.”

“Don’t joke about the fans.”

“…Yes, yes… Are you some classical scholar from the old days…”

Han-sae grumbled after being scolded by Mun hyung. Naturally, he got a light smack from Mun hyung. Puhaha. I happily watched their skit and munched on my pancake.

“Is it good?”

Jae-yi asked, gazing intently at me.

“Yeah, it’s refreshing, sweet, and delicious, but I think I’ll crave doenjang jjigae after I finish it all. You eat some too.”

“I’m full. You eat a lot.”

Jae-yi gently poked my cheek and even brought another plate of bread over to me. I didn’t refuse. Since that punk was full, I picked up a piece of bread with a fork and offered it to the youngest.

“Yadan, eat. It’s delicious.”

“…Thank you, hyung.”

Yadan, who’s still growing, didn’t refuse.

“Oh, has the broadcast started?”

At Han-sae’s words, who was looking at the tablet PC, the four of our gazes also turned towards it simultaneously.

“Oh oh, it must have started! Comments are coming up.”

“Already 1,500 people have joined, ugh, 8,000 in an instant, oh, over 10,000. Ahahaha.”

“Alright, alright, let’s greet first. Hello, everyone, we are Endorphin!”

Because my mouth was full of pancake, I couldn’t follow along. I sighed, thinking I’d created something to get scolded for right from the start.

This album had a total of six songs, including the title track, so each of us was to introduce one song, and Mun hyung would introduce the title track. I also introduced what I had painstakingly memorized: “a song that… rhythmically… with brass… music… ironically expresses the heart of a man who broke up…” The members clapped and teased me, saying it was amazing. Even Yadan, whom I trusted, did the same. My face must have turned red.

“Alright, shall we read the comments? Actually, the comments are coming up too fast to read, ‘Mun, I love you.’ ‘Ira is cute.’ ‘Jae-yi is handsome’… It’s too fast. Everyone, please type a little slower.”

Mun hyung winked at the camera. They’d probably come up even faster than before.

“Many international fans have joined. Oh, some are saying, ‘It’s 3 AM here, but I stayed awake to see you oppas.’ Go to sleep quickly, you won’t grow tall.”

“Puhaha, hyung, you sounded just like a big brother just now.”

“You have a younger sister, Miran, right? Is she in Advanced now?”

I’d only seen her once. She came to the dorm in her school uniform, saying it was her mom’s errand, and dropped off some side dishes; she was shy and cute. When I mentioned her, thinking of her blushing cheeks, Han-sae laughed.

“Ira, are you just mentioning her real name? Hehe.”

“Huh, wait. No, wasn’t her real name already revealed?! Didn’t we talk about it on broadcast and radio last time???”

“It’s fine. She likes being mentioned. Miran, are you watching? Jae-yi, say hello to her. Miran is your fan.”

“Miran, hello. It’s late, so turn it off and go to sleep. You won’t grow tall.”

Everyone burst out laughing at Jae-yi’s nonchalantly cool greeting.

“Come to think of it, Jae-yi also has a younger sister. Puhahaha. It seems all older brothers try to make their younger siblings sleep.”

“Ira, you have a younger brother too, don’t you? Say a word to your brother who might be watching.”

“He’ll definitely not watch, will he? Haha. He probably isn’t even sleeping though.”

“He could watch it on replay. Say something.”

“I’m telling you, he won’t watch it. Yadan, your brothers might be watching too. Video message, go go!”

Because fans would dislike it if the conversation kept focusing on me, I tossed it to Yadan. As if he didn’t like me daring to defy him, Jae-yi raised one eyebrow, but I pretended not to notice.

Yadan is a man of few words, so he rarely opens his mouth unless spoken to. That’s why I usually talk to Yadan a lot.

Yadan, who only has two older brothers, left a blunt video message. Saying not to watch it because it’s embarrassing and to just go to sleep quickly. The members and fans all burst out laughing. Yadan’s brothers have cheerful personalities, so it’s funny how the youngest’s personality is so different, like he came from another planet.

Next, the MV filming talk continued.

While everyone was ordinarily talking about their filming experiences, Jae-yi brought up my story.

“Ira suffered a lot. He filmed in a sandstorm, so sand and dirt got all in his throat.”

“Ah, no, we all suffered together.”

“Ah, that’s right. As fans will see when the MV is released tomorrow, in Ira’s individual shot, there was a sandstorm blowing, and it wasn’t CGI; it was real.”

“At that time, Ira wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t even eat his lunchbox, right?”

“We should protect our main vocalist’s throat like a national treasure… Ah, the fans are all crying now. Ira, you’re okay now, right?”

Seeing the comment section turn into a sea of tears, Mun quickly took control.

Were any of those ‘ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ’ sincere? Or was it all pity that my voice wasn’t completely ruined? I forced a smile.

“These guys are overreacting. I’m perfectly fine. No need to worry. More than that, everyone worked hard on the filming day~~ Jae-yi kept moving, dancing the same sword dance several times, and Yadan even had a sand bath scene. Yadan, you went through a lot then.”

“…No, Ira.”

The comment section once again became a sea of tears. Mun and Han-sae also doted on Yadan, saying he worked hard then. The conclusion eventually was to ask everyone to watch the MV a lot since the staff also worked hard. Experienced Mun!

The second manager sent a sign to move on to the jacket photoshoot episode. Han-sae quickly spoke first. He talked about how a light stand fell right after filming started, almost causing a big accident. It seemed like he was going to end it with, “It must be a sign that the album will do well,” so I quickly chimed in. There was no way I could skip talking about how cool Jae-yi was then.

“When the light fell, Jae-yi flew in coolly and deflected the debris with his aura. Wow, truly a Motioner!”

“Ah, that’s not it. He didn’t fly in coolly; he just sent his aura from a distance.”

“That’s cool too! Right? His reflexes are so good. I’m telling you, he was like Superman? He was like a hero. Suddenly, whoosh.”

“Wow, look at Ira overacting to make content for his talk segment. Hehehe.”

At Han-sae’s words, I playfully shrugged my shoulders.

“Honestly, there wasn’t one interesting thing during the jacket photoshoot, so I had no choice but to add a little MSG~~ Don’t you think?”

“Yeah. Nothing really happened.”

Jae-yi, whose lips had relaxed ever since I made the whoosh gesture, smiled handsomely and stroked my head. It seemed unconscious. I quickly controlled my facial muscles, lest I also break into a silly smile.

“Even then, fans sent us lunch boxes. Jae-yi and Ira’s fans from the Tyingman Kingdom.”

“That’s right. They sent us Tyingman food. It was really delicious!”

“But Ira couldn’t eat it because he wasn’t feeling well.”

Now I had to control my facial muscles for a different reason. Quiet Yadan had said something for once, and I couldn’t retort… I needed to quickly move on to another topic, but I didn’t know what there was to change the subject.

“Oh, you’re right. Back then, it was Ira’s favorite pork ribs, but he couldn’t eat those either.”

“This kid is secretly so weak. Whenever he gets a chance, he’s not feeling well, and because he’s not feeling well, he can’t eat delicious food, and then he skips meals, which makes him feel unwell again. What a vicious cycle.”

Mun subtly nudged Han-sae’s back, out of sight of the camera, as Han-sae clicked his tongue.

“Fans are asking, ‘So Ira couldn’t eat his lunch box during both the MV shoot and the jacket shoot ㅠㅠ?’ Don’t worry. We saved a lunch box for him separately, so he must have eaten it later. Right? I was going to sneak it if you didn’t eat it, but it was gone the next day.”

“Ha, haha. Don’t even think about touching my stuff. Not even you, Mun. It’s all mine.”

“Of course not. So, everyone, don’t worry. Maknae, do you remember anything from the jacket photoshoot?”

Thanks to Mun, who disliked making fans worry, the topic shifted to Yadan. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other hand, I was worried. It wasn’t just Jae-yi who was eyeing my lunch box. Even Mun, whom I trusted… My declaration that “my stuff is mine alone” seemed meaningless. I should seriously consider buying a mini-fridge to keep in my room instead.